NASHVILLE — Weeks of political promises and lively attacks and counterattacks culminate today when Republican state representatives are expected to decide whether Rep. Glen Casada or Rep. Beth Harwell will be their nominee for the powerful House speaker post come January when the 107th General Assembly begins.
Both camps claim they have the votes in the GOP Caucus, where membership ballooned from 50 to 64 as a result of the Nov. 2 election, leaving Democrats with 34 members. There also is one independent, current Speaker Kent Williams, who is not seeking re-election to the post.
“I feel very confident of the vote,” said Casada, who is Republican Caucus chairman, calling his bid a “humbling experience.”
Efforts to contact Harwell, a former Tennessee Republican Party chairwoman seeking to become the Tennessee House’s first woman speaker, were unsuccessful. But supporters such as Rep. Frank Nicely, R-Strawberry Plains, believe she has the votes necessary to win.
“The way we’re counting the votes, I think she’s got a slight edge,” he noted. “But like I said, politicians don’t lie, they just change their mind later.”